Touro College, Jacob D. Fuchsberg School of Law (Touro Law Center) has been an innovator in the field of legal education for more than twenty years. In 1991, Touro Law Center began work on a plan to introduce "verticality" into the curriculum: a process by which students would learn progressively more sophisticated lawyering skills over the course of their legal education. Since then, Touro Law Center has created courses that combine teaching methods that promote the acquisition of cognitive skills and a knowledge of substantive law with instruction in the skills and the professional values.
When Touro Law Center moved to a new building adjacent to a federal and state court complex, new programs and courses were added to the curriculum that utilize the courts to enhance students’ understanding of the structure and operation of the court system, the nature and scope of the legal work done by judges and litigators, and the magnitude of the crisis in access to justice in the United States.
The two most recent additions to the curriculum are a first year pro bono requirement. First year students work with unrepresented litigants to prepare the documents needed for a divorce. A second year Collaborative Court Program is a partnership between the Touro Law Center and judges and practitioners who collaborate in teaching law students about the practice of law. In all of its innovations, the Touro Law Center has embraced the idea that a multitude of opportunities for experiential learning over the three years is the best way to teach students about the important role lawyers play in society.